Mechanism for trimming slats.



No. 698,139. Patented Apr. 22, I902;

J. BEIF, 1R.

MECHANISM FOR TRIMMING SLATS.

. (Appli'ation filed July 29, 1901.)

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

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' REIF, m.

MECHANISM FOR TBIMMING SLATS.

} (Application filed. July 29, 1901.) y

(lo Model.) 2 sheets-esheat 2.

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UNITED STATES IATFENT ()FFICE.

JOSEPH REIF, J R. OF HEBRON, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO HERCULES WOODEN WARECOMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION.

MECHANISM FOR TRlMlVHNG SLATS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 98,139, dated April 22,1902. Application filed July 29. 1901. Serial a. 70,079, (No model.)

larly such as are used in the manufacture of' barrels; and the inventionconsists in the features of improvement hereinafter described,illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed outin the claims at the end of this specification.

Figure l is a front view of the trimmingmachine embodying my invention.Fig; 2 is a view in vertical cross-section, andFig. 3 is a view incross-section, of parts shown in Fig. 1, butin difierent relativeposition. Fig. 4 shows in detail the trimmer-knife.

In the accompanying drawings my inven tion is shown as embodiedin amachine more particularly designed for beveling the end portions ofslats such as are used in making wire-woven barrels or drums; but itwill be understood that without departure from the invention it may beemployed for trimming or beveling slats for other purposes.

The frame of the machine consists of the end bars A and A, that areconnected in the usual manner by a cross-frame B. The end bars areformed with the usual guide-grooves a, in which reciprocates thecross-head O,'that carries the movable trimmer-knife D. This knife D isadapted to slide in proximity to a support E, whereon the slat will restwhile being trimmed. The cross-head O has a reciprocating movementimparted thereto by suitable rods F, that are connected by arms f to arock-shaft F, journaled at the base of V The machine thus far describedis of familiar construction and will be readily understood by thoseacquainted with this class of devices.

Heretofore it has been customary to operate the rook-shaft F by means ofa treadle connected therewith, the operator placing the slat to betrimmed upon a support in line with the straight edge or support E, withwhich the knife D cooperates. My present invention is designed toprovide means whereby the slats may be automatically delivered to anddischarged from the trimming-knife, so that the efficiency of themachine may be materially increased. Above a suitable support E, that ismounted adjacent the support or straight edge E, is erected a suitablerack for carrying the stack of slats G. As shown, the rack comprisesside bars H, that are connected by cross-bars h at front and back,suitable guide-strips h being preferablyconnected to the cross-bars, soas to holdthe slats in position. Preferably, also, the end bars H of therack'will be furnished with inclined guide-' bars k so as to positionthe slats within the rack and insure their proper delivery to thetrimming-knife. The guide-strips h are extended downwardly to a pointsufficiently close to the rest or support E to insure that only one slatshall be delivered at a time to the trimming-knife, a space being leftbeneath the end of the guide-strips h for the passage of the lowermostslat ofthe stack.

I At the front of the frame B is j ournaled the rock-shaft K, carryingarms M, and the upper ends of these arms Mare provided with shoulders orextensions forming pushers m, that are adapted to engage the front edgeof the lowermost slat of the stack G and force the inner edge of saidslat into the path ofbeneath and engage the lowermost slat of the stackG and withdraw saidslat from the ma-' chine afterit has been trimmed. Asshown, the ejectors N are connected together by a cross-rodp, thatextends throughth'eir front ends. From the rock-shaft K extends an armR, to which arm are connected the lower ends of springs r, the upperends of'these springs being fastened to a stationary part of the frameand preferably to the supports E. The springs 'rtend to rock the shaftK, so as to force the ejector-hooks n beneath the stack of slats G.Through the arm R passes a pitman-rod S, that is connected at itslower'end to a bolt 5 in the bifurcated end of an arm T,

extending forwardly from the rock-shaft F. A second pitman-rod V alsoconnects. to the bolt 5, and the lower end of this pitman-rod V will beconnected to a suitable eccentric or crank. (Not shown.) The hole in thearm B, through which the pitman S passes, is somewhat larger than thediameter of the pitman-rod, so as to allow the head of the pitmanred atcertain times to pass to a distance above the arm R, as indicated bydotted lines in Fig. 2. The purpose of this arrangement is to allow thepushers on, after the lowermost slat of the stack has been delivered tothe trimmer-knife D, to remain idle until the trimmer-knife hasdescended and trimmed the ends of the slat, after which the head 8 ofthe pitman-rod S will contact with the arm R, thereby rocking itdownward and causing the arms M to rock forward, and thus insure thatthe ejectors N shall discharge the slat that has been trimmed. As shown,rods IV are attached to the front of the machine, (being preferablyconnected to a support E,) and extend slightly higher than the path oftravel of the ejectors m, so that as a slat is withdrawn by the ejectorsit will ride over the rods W, which will free it from engagement withthe ejectors. Preferably, also, guiderods WV extend forwardly from themachine to deflect the slats into a suitable receptacle.

By reference to Fig. at it will be seen that the knife D is forwardlycurved and that its central portion extends downwardly considerablybelow its ends. When the knife D is raised, its low central portionrises only to about the top of the straight edge E, so that when thelowermost slat is fed inward it will contact with the central portion ofthe knife; but the ends of the slat (which only are to be trimmed) willextend beneath the forwardlycurved higher portions of the knife.Assuming the parts to be in the position shown in Fig. 3 of thedrawings, then if the machine he started the pitman V and the rods S andF will be raised by a suitable cam or eccentric. (Not shown.) The rods Fwill lift the knife D until the center of this knife is in line with orslightly above the top of the straight edge E, so that the lowermostslat of the stack when fed in will be in the path of the end portions ofthe knife when it descends. As the pitman-rod S is raised, it permitsthe springs 1' to rock inward the arms M, and thereby cause the pushersm to engage the front edge of the lowermost slat and force it into thepath of the knife. At the time the pitman-rod S completes its upwardmove ment the head .9 of this pitman-rod will be at a distance above therock-arm B, through which it moves freely. The slat being now inposition, the pitman-rod V is caused to descend and draws downward theknife D, causing it to trim the edges of the ends of the slat thathasbeen forcedinto the path of the knife. The pressure of the knife-edgeupon the slat thus being trimmed causes the hooks or teeth a of theejectors N to be embedded in the slat. As soon as the knife I) hascompleted the trimming of the slat the head .9 of the pitman-rod S willin its downward movement contact with the rock-arm R, thereby causingthis rock-arm to move downwardly and force the arms M to rock forwardly,and thus cause the ejectors N to withdraw the slat that has been trimmedfrom beneath the pile of slats G and eject it forwardly, as shown inFig. 3. In this way it will be seen that the slats are rapidly deliveredto and discharged from the trimmer-knife D. An advantage in using one ormore springs 1' for causing the pusher mechanism to advance the slatsinto the path of the trimmer-knife is that if for any reason a slathappens to be wider than the ordinary width the pusher will simplydeliver the slat to proper position to be trimmed, the machine beingequipped with the usual gage that varies the curvature of the knife, andthus regulates the amount to be trimmed from the edges of the slats. Thefeature of employing a loose or lost-motion connection, such as thepitman-rod S, sliding through the rock-arm R, is of advantage, inasmuchas it allows the ejector mechanism to remain at rest during the timethat the slat is being trimmed.

It is manifest that the precise details of construction above set outmay be varied within wide limits without departing from the spirit ofthe invention. So far as I am aware the invention presents the first instance of a slat -trimmer having combined therewith means forautomatically delivering the slats laterally and discharging them fromthe cutter-knife.

.Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a slat-trimming machine, the combination with the cutter-knife andwith a support for the slats, of means for automatically delivering theslats in lateral direction into the path of the cutter-knife, and meansfor withdrawing the slats laterally from said knife.

2. In a slat-trimming machine, the combination with the cutter-knife anda support for the slats,- of pusher mechanism adapted to engage theedges of the slats and force them into the path of the cutter-knife andejector mechanism adapted to discharge the slats laterally from themachine.

3. In a slat-trimming machine, the combination with the cutter-knife anda-support for the slats, of a rack arranged in front of the knife forsupporting a stack of slats, an opening at the bottom of said rack topermit the lowermost slat to be moved laterally into the path of thecutter-knife, pusher mechanism for advancing the slats laterallyinto thepath of the cutter-knife and ejector mechanism for discharging the slatsfrom the machine.

4-. In a slat-trimming machine, the combination, with the cutter-knifeand with a suit-- able support for the slats, of pusher mechanism foradvancing the slats laterally into the path of the knife and ejectormechanism having points or hooks adapted to engage the bottoms of theslats and discharge them from the machine.

5. In a slat-trimming machine, the combination With the cutter-knife andwith a suitable support for the slats, of pusher mechanism for advancingthe slats laterally into the path of the knife, ejector mechanism fordischarging the trimmed slats, and a spring for actuating thepushermechanism in delivering the slats into the path of the knife.

6. In a slat-trimming machine, the combination with the cutter-knife andwith a suitable support for the slats, of pusher mechanism for advancingthe slats laterally into the path of the knife, a spring for moving saidpusher mechanism to effect the delivery of the slats to the action ofthe knife, means for anism for moving said pushers to cause the deliveryof the slats to the path of the cutter-knife and means for moving saidpushers and ejectors in opposite direction in order to Withdraw theslats;

JOSEPH REIF, J R.

Witnesses: v

GEORGE P. FisHER, J12, I ALBERTA ADAMICK;

